Mental Health Package Targeting Overdoses Gets House Panel Nod

Lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a legislative package bolstering funds and services for mental health and people suffering from drug addiction, the latest in a series of government steps to address the nation’s worsening overdose crisis.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bipartisan bill in a voice vote. The measure (H.R. 7666) by Chair Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) would create a Behavioral Health Crisis Coordinating Office to organize efforts between Health and Human Services Department agencies as well as outside parties.

It would also end a special waiver doctors need to prescribe substance use disorder treatment medicine. ...